Josiah Parker

Josiah Parker (11 May 1751-11 March 1810) was a member of the US House of Representatives (F-VA 8) from 4 March 1789 to 3 March 1793 (preceding Thomas Claiborne) and from VA-11 from 4 March 1793 to 3 March 1801 (preceding Thomas Newton, Jr.).

Biography
Josiah Parker was born in Isle of Wight County, Virginia in 1751, and he became a member of the state Committee of Safety in 1775 and became Colonel of the 5th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army on 1 April 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. He had the honor of receiving a dying Johann Rall's sword after the Battle of Trenton, and he went on to serve in the House of Delegates from 1778 to 1779 and from 1782 to 1783. While Parker opposed the US Constitution's ratification, he went on to serve in the US House of Representatives from 1789 to 1793, and he became the first national legislator to introduce anti-slavery legislation. He died in 1810.